Features
PB sermon turns silk purse into sow’s ear
I think that last Sunday’s lesson from Acts is one of the Bible’s best for preaching the liberating power of Christ. It is a passage that even progressives should find inspiring on several levels. Unless you are the Presiding Bishop, who sees the complete opposite. Instead of liberation, there is confinement. Instead of Christ’s glory, there’s just squalor.
Don’t Sign the Letter
Living in a condition of regular unrepentant sexual engagement with a person of the same sex is, according to 1 Cor 6:9-10, damnable. The best thing, the only thing, to be done is to repent, break off the relationship, and turn to Jesus Christ. For the sake of those engaged in this sin (and those who are tempted by it) there can be no pastoral or practical accommodation.
A Facebook Exchange with a COE Bishop
It’s sometimes unpleasant to have one’s rhetorical inconsistencies mocked and it’s sometimes unpleasant to have someone else in one’s organization point out that there’s no commonality on one’s faith.
How to Never Say Anything True About Jesus to Anyone Ever
The apostles did not wait, nor do they ever suggest waiting, until hearers might “receive the gospel as good news” before proclaiming it. The cross offends. It always will because it amplifies the sinfulness of human sin and the helplessness of humanity apart from the work of Christ.
Beware the Next Reichstag Fire
The American left probes for a Reichstag fire moment. There is a quest for an incident that will allow more centralization of emergency power in the federal government, the elimination of constitutional rights and, it would appear, the advent of a single party state.
Eichmann to Gosnell, Ragsdale on the Assist
I don’t think I’m violating any confidences to say that most of us at Stand Firm are finding it very hard to cover the Gosnell trial, as relevant and pointed as it is for the kinds of faith and culture issues we engage here. Monstrous as he is, he is but a microcosm of evil pervading the church and the world.
Once More into the Breach: The Silly Shellfish Argument Rises Again
If you’re a revisionist activist devoted to normalizing homosexual behavior in the church, Acts 10 isn’t a moving account of the gracious and merciful hand of God extending salvation to the Gentiles – it’s a threat that must be neutralized.
Burning Incense to Rosie O’Donnell
“Marriage equality” lets people stand on a cost-free moral high ground. You’re a good person just for holding the opinion, saying the slogan, burning the pinch of incense. You are an accepted member of the in group and can look down your nose at those on the outs.
Sexual Immorality is a Rejection of Jesus
What I want to do here is look at the specific way in which the New Testament equates false teaching about sexual ethics with false teaching about Jesus and outright denial of his Lordship.
The Duke, the Dauphin, and the Episcopal Bishop of Virginia
It’s such a crude and farcical fraud by now—like the Duke and the Dauphin capering across the stage in Huckleberry Finn—and yet our bishops still put on the play with nary a trace of embarrassment or self-awareness.
Learning the Right Lessons: No One Should be Surprised by Shannon Johnston
To promote the notion that two people of the same sex can be married and/or engage in sexual acts within the context of a union God has blessed is not simply to reject God’s revealed purposes for human sexuality, it is also to construct a false image of god, a distorted portrait of Christ.
Truro - the Crisis for the Communion
Simply put, Baucum/Truro have crystallised and provided validation to what is becoming increasingly clear is Justin Welby’s approach of non-discipline of heretics in the Communion
Truro - the Crisis for the ACNA
Truro’s position effectively demands that all former Virginia parishes revert to TEC.
The Devil, You Say
Was Adam Lanza, the Newtown gunman, the Devil’s agent? To put it another way, can the possibility be foreclosed? Because if it can be, the Prince of Darkness is off the hook, and we turn, necessarily, to the examination of purely human causes and motives
Mindy McCready and the New American Priesthood
One hopes that a real priest, pastor or somebody will come alongside McCready’s abandoned children, with a word more enduring than film scripts or pop lyrics.
Promises, Promises: What Now for the Loyal Opposition in Mississippi?
The Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi is on an irreversible path toward full-on celebration and normalization of homosexuality and transgenderism, and any other deviant sexual cause that becomes fashionable among the theological leftists who run the diocese.
What’s our message to those who aren’t having sex?
Just like there’s all kinds of sex going on, there’s all kinds of celibacy going on. Some celibacy is temporary, some is permanent. Some is planned, some is an intrusion. Some is honored, some is reviled.
The Week
Homicide Rates Before Guns?
Interesting analysis over at Extrano’s Alley, where there is more: England is one of the few exceptions to the lack of records. Wide areas of England have excellent…
Mid-Week Refresher: Marine reunited with dog he handled in Afghanistan in surprise ceremony
1 Very sweet. From Fox News, where there is more: When Marine Sgt. Ross Gundlach served as a dog handler in Afghanistan, he told the yellow lab who was his constant…
States Have a Right to Protect Residents from Illegal Immigration
From Red State, where there is more: To begin with, there is a clear need for states to help enforce laws against illegal immigration in such a large country. When you…
Gang Immigration Bill (S.744) is Comprehensively Flawed
The three categories that Daniel Horowitz over at Red State covers are Enforcement/Security, Amnesty for Illegals, and Legal Immigration/Guest Workers/Future Flow—so make certain…
Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 11 Things I Learned
2 This is an interesting piece from Thom Rainer, a Southern Baptist minister, and for the most part, I agreed with him. One thing I do wonder is if…
The Abusive Hermeneutics of Rachel Held Evans
9 I’ve been following Rachel Held Evans’ writing for about a year now. It’s hard to read her regularly and keep your patience because she consistently misuses the bible to support her favorite causes. Most recently…
2013 Best & Worst States For Business
2 Interesting stuff from a CEO survey about best and worst states for business—SC ranks eighth on the list, though there’s plenty our leaders can do to move us up in that ranking. Where does your…
Helping Oklahoma
4 Capn’ Jack Sparrow has helpfully sent a couple of links for donations and/or volunteer work to help those in Oklahoma recover from devastating losses and death. Are there other suggestions from readers?
The Obama Scandals Aren’t About Bad Government, but Big Government
13 Oh, I so agree. Obama is not The Problem—it’s all the thousands of Obamas behind him who believe in just his version of Big Government. From Red State, where there is…
Three Signs There’s a Cover-Up
2 From NRO, where there is more: Here are some other clues that a Washington cover-up is going on. 1. No one seems to be able to name the players.…
And the Hits (to the First Amendment) Just Keep On Coming
4 You’ve heard of Lois Lerner, the head of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations Division. Under her watch, IRS agents took to asking questions about religious matters completely irrelevant to any legitimate inquiry into tax exempt status…
Never Let a Tragedy Go to Waste
7 This is how uncivilized, how mindless, how swinish discourse has become in Washington: the death toll in Moore, Oklahoma was still climbing, and the rescue efforts still on-going, when Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) decided to…
Sermon: James 2:14-26 - Faith Without Works is Dead
Preached 19 May 2013 Glenquarie Anglican Church. James 2:14-26
Pre-teen Pedophile Victim Forced by Rapist to Get Abortion at Planned Parenthood
13 Remember - your tax dollars go to support this. An Everson man who impregnated a preteen girl and forced her to have an abortion must…
Sam Allberry - Is God Anti-Gay? [video]
1 A great interview with Sam, whom I wrote about a few months ago.
Recent Comments
Paula Loughlin - Mid-Week Refresher: Marine reunited with dog he handled in Afghanistan in surprise ceremony
I so needed this today. Thanks.
Kamilla - The Abusive Hermeneutics of Rachel Held Evans
An occasional correspondent alerted me to this post. Mrs. Evans is skilled at faking sincerity and manipulating the emotions of her followers in order to elicit the proper emotional response from them. She is a…
cennydd13 - The Obama Scandals Aren’t About Bad Government, but Big Government
And David_Fine, you’re right; it’s all about getting reelected.
m+ - The Abusive Hermeneutics of Rachel Held Evans
And remind them that they will see them again - in the next life, at least for those who believe. Good advice, but I’d suggest caution on this last point. Unless the person is a…
Jackie - Helping Oklahoma
I highly recommend Mercury One for donations. They can be found here. All of your money goes to support the charity you have selected. From their website: Mercury One will not take out any portion…
Michael D - Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 11 Things I Learned
Sounds to me like the core problem might be lack of intelligent, compassionate, passionate, faithful leadership from the pastor(s). I have noted around here that the old mainline churches, lacking moral and faith foundations, attract…
Fr. Dale - PB sermon turns silk purse into sow's ear
Martial Artist, Point well taken but I think ETR wanted someone to fall on their own sword explaining the problem. It is not a single comment but a history of comments here and elsewhere that…
cennydd13 - Pre-teen Pedophile Victim Forced by Rapist to Get Abortion at Planned Parenthood
And one more thing: Even if the girl doesn’t report it, the others that I mentioned are required to do so.
Undergroundpewster - Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 11 Things I Learned
This is part of a longer piece that I was working on, but I would add 12) The church steadily lowers its moral standards and moral teaching for fear of alienating members.
Martial Artist - PB sermon turns silk purse into sow's ear
Fr. Dale, Ed the Roman is not necessarily exercising triumphalism, I think. My surmise is that it is rather a recognition of something lacking at the core of TEC. And it was something publicly noted…
cennydd13 - The Obama Scandals Aren’t About Bad Government, but Big Government
Well, at least we’ll be rid of Obama in the next Presidential election…...thank God…...and his cronies will be gone along with him. But, we’ll still have to contend with the mess they leave behind.
Undergroundpewster - The Abusive Hermeneutics of Rachel Held Evans
Citing a single verse in Job can open up a can of worms. Rachel Evans jumps to a conclusion that Piper probably did not intend. I think #6 B. Hunter’s point is spot on. The…
B. Hunter - The Abusive Hermeneutics of Rachel Held Evans
helpmelord - great question. First, I am thankful to hear that you have not suffered a loss of faith in the face of these circumstances. But you are right - when someone loses a child…
Fr. Dale - PB sermon turns silk purse into sow's ear
#55. ETR, Unlike pope Francis, even KJS does not claim infalability (nor the ABC). Also, Anglicans do not have a magisterium. Theoretically any TEC bishop could call her out. But….you knew this already so I’m…
Jill Woodliff - The Abusive Hermeneutics of Rachel Held Evans
Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him. Job 13:15 Faith brings many blessings, but no guarantee of escaping all tragedy.
Michael+ - The Abusive Hermeneutics of Rachel Held Evans
Matt, I agree - I simply cannot read her “stuff” without wanting to fisk it to death. Case in point, . . . 1) “While the world is still in shock,” what arrogance! I assure…